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MaryElizabeth Curulla By Sam Young, Director of Advocacy
Sam Young interviewed MaryElizabeth Curulla, LSCNY’s newest staff attorney. LSCNY recently began a new project with Vera House to provide representation in civil legal services to survivors of domestic violence. MaryElizabeth started working with LSCNY in October as the staff attorney on this project. Because so many of our staff have been socially distanced during this time of COVID-19, I am sure that everyone will want to learn a little bit about our newest colleague, and that we all join in welcoming her to the LSCNY family. SY: MaryElizabeth, I want to welcome you to Legal Services of Central New York. Can you please tell us something about yourself? MEC: I am a life-long resident of Syracuse. I’m an ‘Eastside girl’-- I grew up in Fayetteville and have lived in DeWitt for thirty years. I went to St. Lawrence University and majored in Government and Spanish. I spent my sophomore year in Spain and loved it! I went to SU for law school, with the plan of becoming an international lawyer. I met my husband, Frank Scibilia, a life-long resident of DeWitt, on the first day of law school and we got married a month after the bar exam. We have 3 children: Alexandra, a senior at Binghamton University; Matthew, a sophomore at the University of Rochester; and David, a junior at J-D. SY: Where did you practice law before coming to LSCNY? MEC: I was in private practice for most of my legal career. My practice concentrated in criminal, family/ matrimonial, real estate, and wills/estates. I was a mem-
ber of the Assigned Counsel Program and Law Guardian Panel. I took a few years off to stay home with my children and returned to practicing full time, with Hiscock Legal Aid (HLA), in November 2015. For over 4 years, I was the HLA attorney assigned to both the Integrated Domestic Violence Part and CLASP. I was very fortunate to have Elaine Amory as my CLASP co-worker! SY: Tell us about the project you are working on at LSCNY?
MEC: As of October 1st, Vera House is now subcontracting with LSCNY to provide legal services to survivors of domestic violence. My caseload involves primarily matrimonial, family offense, and custody/visitation proceedings. SY:
How has it been going so far?
MEC: It has been absolutely wonderful working with Susan Griffith!! She was my supervising attorney at HLA and she’s so knowledgeable about so many areas of the law. I am so happy to be working with her again. Matrimonial and family law can be demanding and stressful. It’s nice to not only discuss cases with Susan, but also have her as a friend to just chat and share a laugh with.
SY: Tell us why are you passionate about representing survivors of domestic violence? MEC: My clients need MaryElizabeth Curulla someone who wants to help them. I really like my clients and I want to help and empower them. I like to educate them about the law and assist them through the court process. I consider myself a very good listener and most of my clients need an attorney who takes the time to listen to them. This helps me establish a good rapport with clients and ultimately determine what I can do, as their attorney, to help them.
